RUH RO! The doody has hit the fan! CC’s is taking over the Cafe Metropolitain space!

The word has hit the streets via Capitol Hill Seattle blog: CC Attle’s, which was forced to find a new home after their Madison location was scheduled for redevelopment, is moving into the space currently occupied by Cafe Metropolitain in the Plaza del Sol building on Olive Way. The comment thread over there is buzzing, primarily with people in the neighborhood being concerned over the potential noise issue, (are “bears” noisier than “twinks”?) and the lack of parking; CC Attle customers tended to be city wide and the parking lot at the Madison location was an important draw for the bar. The parking situation in the much denser Olive Way/Broadway area could be an issue for their fanbase.

And, there are obviously some very unhappy campers on both sides of the issue. Quyen Luu, the Cafe Met owner is obviously distraught that he has lost his lease and his employees are out of a job. Fans of Cafe Met and gay neighbors are upset that the area is losing one of the few queer bars in that part of the Hill. Meanwhile, the CC Attle’s owners and staff are concerned that they might appear to be the “heavy” in all this drama and portrayed as the bullies forcing out another queer business. We received this email today regarding the leaked announcement about the move:

this is ‘true’… but I wouldn’t post anything to your site for a few days, the CC’s people are not very happy right now because there are rumors that CC’s FORCED out Cafe Metropolitan and that is NOT true from what I’ve heard… If you have time or know Chris (owner of CC’s), I’d get his thoughts on what actually happened and highlight it on your blog. I would think he’d want a public gay response to those rumors soon here.

The tipster, (I’m keeping the name confidential until he/she tells me otherwise), is referring to Chris Daw the owner of CC Attle’s. We’re trying to track him down for a comment.

This is obviously a developing story with a lot of questions raised. Was Cafe Met owner Quyen Luu blindsided by the space’s owners, a corporation called Four Gringos? Was this a rent hike situation that couldn’t be met and how long has it been going on? And, what’s the timeframe for their closure and how long will it take CC’s to move in? (and, will Cafe Met look for a new home?) And, once they do move in, how long before the neighbors freak out with noise complaints? Frankly, CC’s was fairly immune to this issue at the old location since there wasn’t any residential space that close to the bar and let’s face it: CC’s could get a little noisy and rowdy. More than once I’ve walked by there at night to find a lot of noisy, partying folk on the deck and even people leaving the bar, partying and vomiting in the tiny park across the street. (I’m not judging, just observing; bars SHOULD be kind of noisy!) I’m not convinced this is a good fit for them or the neighborhood, though I don’t have a ton of patience with people who bitch about nightlife noise when they’ve made the choice to rent or buy an apartment/condo on a commercial street that has long been a home to nightlife establishments…

This is a fascinating story and we’ll keep you posted.

– Michael Strangeways